Token Creek Mobile Television recently upgraded its Chippewa 53-foot production truck to HD.

WAUNAKEE, WIS.— “Give the customers
what they want”—that’s the design
mantra behind Token Creek Mobile Television’s
refurbished Chippewa 53-foot
production truck. In order to satisfy the
needs of top tier cable and regional sports
networks, Chippewa was recently converted
from an SD to a fully integrated HD
truck.

“These broadcasters are very clear
about the equipment they like in their
trucks,” said John Salzwedel, Token
Creek’s senior vice president of sales. “We
do have some flexibility when it comes to
cameras and lenses, but when it comes to
the basics—these customers know what
they want.

“The sports industry is demanding HD
more and more these days, such that I expect
SD to be basically gone in the next
six months,” he added. “So we needed to
convert Chippewa from SD to HD/3G, to
keep this unit relevant to broadcasters’
needs.”

The truck is built around a Grass Valley Keyenne switcher with video storage/ playout/slow motion from EVS.

Token Creek has three other 53-foot
production trucks, including Hiawatha,
Sioux, and Varsity, all of which are HD
units with Grass Valley video switchers.

TRUCK’S REBIRTH
Chippewa’s rebirth doesn’t end with
the transition from SD to HD. The refurbished
truck is so different from its former
self, that there’s literally no comparison
between the two.

“We totally gutted the truck and
changed the interior layout to make it
more ergonomically
friendly and spacious,”
said Salzwedel.
“We even sent
the trailer out for
a complete overhaul,
and had it and
the truck cleaned
up and repainted.
It’s basically a new
truck.”

Chippewa’s system
integration was handled by Beck Associates
of Austin, Texas. This was the first
time that Token Creek had contracted a
truck buildout to a third-party integrator.

Chippewa’s production center is built
around the Grass Valley Kayenne video
switcher. “This is what our clients were
expecting to see in the truck,” said Salzwedel.
“It is 4-ME/75 input/48 output, with
all the bells and whistles.”

As mentioned, audio is handled by a
Calrec Artemis console; video storage/
playout/slow motion by EVS XT3 servers,
and graphics by a Chyron HyperX system.
Chippewa is also home to PESA routers;
288x288 video and 1024x1024 audio.

Token Creek did have some wiggle
room to choose cameras. “We selected
Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elites, which we
have on all our trucks,” said Salzwedel.
“These are great cameras that deliver
quality video. We can run them using Triax
or fiber, with both 101mm or 88mm Fujinon
zoom lenses.” The truck carries 10
Elites onboard, and is wired to support up
to 12 cameras.

Chippewa’s 3G video infrastructure is
built upon Cobalt Digital HPF-9000 High
Power Frames. “Each of these units is
only 2RU tall, yet can provide up to 360
watts of power across 10 high-power or
20 medium-power cards,” said Bob McAlpine,
senior vice president of sales for
Cobalt Digital. “These units are populated
by cards that support HD-SDI reclocking;
MADI and audio distribution amplifiers,
and frame syncs.”

Chippewa’s 3G video infrastructure is built upon Cobalt Digital HPF-9000 High Power Frames.

“We chose Cobalt because of their
proven reliability, and the solid support
we get from their sales and technical
staff,” said Salzwedel. “We need equipment
that we can count on.”

THANKSGIVING DEBUT
Token Creek had two big hurdles to
clear to make the new Chippewa truck a
reality.

The first was time: The rebuild began
in mid-August 2012, with the goal of Chippewa
being ready when the 2012–2013
basketball season started in November.

“One reason we contracted Beck Associates
to build Chippewa was the
deadline; especially because our own
engineers were busy on other projects,”
said Salzwedel. “Fortunately, Fred Beck
and his company came
through—and went
above and beyond what
we asked for. You walk
through the truck today,
and it is so new that you
wouldn’t even know it
had been refurbished.”

The second hurdle was money. “Token
Creek had a difficult time convincing our
now ‘old bank’ to underwrite the project,”
Salzwedel said. “Fortunately, Tom Spitz and
his group at Settlers Bank came through
for us. They have a solid grasp of our business
case, and secured the financing and
support we needed.”

The refurbished Chippewa’s first gig
took place on Nov. 22 when it was deployed
by NBC-affiliate WDIV-4 Detroit to
cover the 86th annual America’s Thanksgiving
Parade.

“It’s a fitting launch for the rebirth of
a great truck,” said Salzwedel. “After this
shoot, Chippewa will be on the road
again—this time in HD!”

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The FAA’s current rules and proposed ban on flight over people, requirement of visual line of sight and restriction on nighttime flying, effectively prohibit broadcasters from using UAS for newsgathering. ~ WMUR-TV General Manager Jeff Bartlett